K.Mandla's blog of Linux experiences

Picking an external DVD drive

A long time ago I thought it was good to see the old printer ports phased out of laptops. Then the PS2 mouse plug started to fade away. When floppy drives disappeared I was a little concerned, but it hasn’t really affected me much. This X60s is the first machine I’ve ever bought that came without an optical drive though, and considering that was one of my reasons for needing a new computer I pondered it greatly before buying this one.

But that is a problem easily solved with about US$50 at my local electronic department store, on the way home from work. I have a bad habit of simply grabbing something off the shelf without double-checking its compatibility, but I do admit I check the label against what I know before I purchase.

This time though, I just yanked a Buffalo DVSM-PN58U2V off the shelf and walked to the counter. Careful Linux consumer be darned, I was going to go crazy and take my chances. I paid my money, came home and plugged it in.

And not only does it get its proper attention from Linux, but the BIOS in this X60s likes it too. I can boot off CDs (which was my main concern) and write ISOs out to disc too, so my adventures in restoring old hardware to full function can continue unabated.

My only caveat if you decide on the same one, is that the surface is that over-polished sheen that seems to be the rage on laptops these days. Personally I hate that, because it picks up fingerprints like crazy. So I leave the protective plastic cover on mine — much like I do with my cellphone. It’s a small layer of protection against dinks and scuffs, and doesn’t look like an entire primary school ate cookies and Kool-aid and then mauled your DVD burner.